New Roads, New beginnings
by silver orchids
Summary: When strange men in strange robes and pointy sticks threaten Sakura and her friends, things go off in a direction never thought. xover with CCS. Ratings can change.Chapter 2 is up. all reviews are welcome!
1. Chapter 1

O Chapter 1

The massive building rang with silence. Which was unusual since it was a school. But school had long since finished and a lone figure wandered in the courtyard, around the statue of the winged angel.

Sakura Kinomoto looked at her watch for the nth time in fifteen minutes. She sighed pushing her windblown hair off her face. At seventeen Sakura was one of the most popular girls in the school. Just tall enough to be not called petite, with messy brown hair and cheerful bright green eyes, Sakura was also one of the prettiest, making her very popular with boys.

The muted murmur of distant conversation made Sakura once again turn and go to the steps, peering into the corridor to see if anyone was coming. There was, and fortunately it was exactly who she wanted to see. She crossed her arms, crossly, "You were supposed to be here thirty minutes ago." The other two girls grinned at her. Tomoyo shrugged her shoulders, "Sorry Sakura. We had to practise for extra half hour." Sakura sighed. It didn't matter. She always ended up staying up to an hour later in school waiting for her two best friends to finish their after-school music practise.

Unlike Sakura in her school uniform, Tomoyo was in a blue dress. Tomoyo was one the best students in school and also excelled in music. With her dark hair and blue eyes she was also one of the prettiest and most popular girls in school, especially since unlike Sakura, Tomoyo was single. Sakura narrowed her eyes, "You two already changed," she whined, "Now I am going to look weird as the only one in uniform." A laughing voice replied, " Sorry, Sakura, but the opportunity was too good. Since it was after school, we were allowed to change and I, for one wanted to get out of this uniform as quick as possible."

This voice belonged to the third girl in the group. She was in blue jeans and black clingy sweater, melding with her raven hair. This girl was Riya Christensen. Unlike the other two, Riya was more beautiful than pretty. She was tall, slightly curvy. Unlike the pale complexion of her friends, Riya's was peaches and cream. With expressive deep blue eyes, an equally expressive mouth and elegant, careless grace in her every movement, Riya Morgaine was blessed with hypnotic beauty. Excelling in studies and music, she was not at all one of the most popular girls in the school or even in her class. Even boys preferred to view her from a distance.

When Riya had first arrived in their class, her attitude would have made her an ideal target for bullies. But there was something about her that made sure that no one messed with her. It was a big surprise when the most popular- Sakura, Tomoyo and Sakura's boyfriend and football star, Li Syaoran, befriended her immediately. And despite who her best friends were Riya never became popular. And that was something she couldn't be happier about.

The three friends were truly a perfect trio. What one lacked, the other two compensated for it. While Tomoyo and Riya excelled in studies and music, Sakura was average. Sakura and Tomoyo were extremely popular and Riya definitely wasn't. And both Riya and Sakura had magical powers.

The three friends walked down the shady pavement, Sakura carrying her skates in her hand. "Two weeks of no school!", exclaimed Sakura, "Isn't it great?" Riya smiled wickedly, "Yeah, you can spend them feeding Kero puddings, just like he made you promise." Sakura groaned, "I forgot about that. Hopefully Kero has too." Tomoyo looked at her innocently, " Isn't that like wishing the impossible, Sakura?" Sakura shot death glares as the other two unsuccessfully tried to stifle their laughter.

They stopped next to Tomoyo's front gate. From here, they went their separate ways. Sakura looked at the other two, "Hey, you want to go see a movie tomorrow?" "Yeah," replied Tomoyo, "that would be great. What about you, Riya?" "Sure," she replied absently looking at her watch, "Do you want me to bring Li?" Sakura brightened up, " Sure, if you can. Last time I knew, Li had football practise." Riya smirked, "Very well. But don't you want to conduct the proceedings in private?" As Sakura turned red, Tomoyo laughed, "Don't tease her, Riya. Wait till you fall in love!" Riya rolled her eyes, " I don't think so."

"Hey Kero," said Sakura, as she dumped her bag on the bed. Kero, who was lying on the bed, his limbs splayed, drawled, "Hey Sakura." Sakura froze, as she looked around the room, "Something is wrong," she said softly to herself. Comprehension dawned on her face as her eyes rested on Kero's prone form, "Kero, you aren't playing the video game! Why?" A pause. "Did you break the television?" she asked accusingly. Kero opened his eyes, with an indignant frown on his face, "No! I just didn't feel like it. I do have a life other than video games, you know." Sakura looked at him sceptically, "Uh huh, sure Kero." Kero was about to protest when his eyes landed on a plate, which had previously escaped his notice.

"Is that pudding?" he asked softly. "Yeah," replied Sakura, "I bought it for both…" The sentence broke off at the sight of now empty plate. "KERO! I bought it for _both_ of us! Which is why there were two forks!" Kero lay back on the bed sated. "Sorry," he said with an unapologetic shrug, "So what are you doing tomorrow?" Sakura gave a final glare before shrugging, "We are going to see a movie." Kero immediately sat up, his eyes sparking, "Movies? That means you'll have popcorn and sweets and maybe ice cream. You have to bring some for me." Suddenly Kero narrowed his eyes triumphantly, "You have to. Remember? You promised."

Sakura smirked slowly, "Actually I said I will give you pudding in the holidays and since technically, right now it is my holiday, and you have had both of our puddings, there is no reason for me to give you any more sweets." She finished the declaration with a sweet smile. Kero resisted the urge to stamp his feet. "How is Riya?" he asked.

Sakura looked at Kero, "She seems fine." Both Kero and Yue were very protective of Riya. As an orphan, Riya had pretty much been adopted by Li's grandfather and both of Sakura's guardians had become very fond of Riya.

Kero nodded thoughtfully, all thoughts of pudding forgotten, "This is a very crucial time. Riya will be coming into her full powers in the next 10-12 months. Good thing we are all here to keep an eye out on her." Sakura nodded in agreement. Kero looked at her slyly, "So you'll be bringing me ice cream tomorrow?" Sakura smiled wickedly, "Lets see, Kero." Kero groaned. It didn't look good.

Riya flicked her lighter absently, as she sat on her bed. In a room decorated in cool, deep hues, the pristine white bed stood out. Giving company to the photographs and the prints on the wall were sets of daggers, fencing swords, a samurai sword and several other sets of weaponry placed casually around the room. And all of them looked like they were in regular use.

Li Sayoran entered the room with relief written all over his face. Riya grinned at her surrogate brother, "Mei-lin cancelled, didn't she?" Li looked at her in surprise, "How do you know? I thought she wanted me to tell everyone." "I know you," she replied simply, "Listen, you want you go for a movie tomorrow. Your girlfriend misses you and rest of wouldn't mind seeing you either." A comment like this would have usually resulted in a very effective death glare, but after living with Riya for years, Li had learnt to take such comments from her in stride. "Sure, if we go in the afternoon. My practice is in the evening."

Riya giggled suddenly. Li turned to look at her, "What?" Riya sighed dreamily, "Nothing. Just imaging your face this morning, when you lost to me" A pause. "_Again_"

Li looked at her indignantly, "I don't like the way you emphasised on 'again'. I don't always lose to you."

Riya snorted, "Come on, Li. You lose to me most of the time."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"NO!"

"YES!"

"50-50"

"Fine."

"50 percent of times I win, 50 percent of times you lose."

Riya looked at him balefully, "That was sad. Pathetic."

Li shrugged defensively, "Being witty is not one of my strong points."

An eyebrow arched mockingly, "Obviously."

Li pelted her with a pillow, "Shut up. I am not the one who is being trained in martial arts by vampires."

Riya waved her hand dismissively, "Excuses, excuses." She gave a bright, gleeful smile as all the pillows and cushions rose up and pelted themselves at Li.

The moon bathed the city below in its pale glow. With streetlights almost muted from here, the landscape below seemed to be composed of a surrealist mix of blue-whites and greys. As the buildings reduced gradually and gave way to the woods that surrounded the city in an arc, the shadows seemed more alive. Trees rustled quietly, secretively in an invisible breeze, which wound its way through the treetops, down the branches, to the tiny blades of grass, which paved the earth.

They knew her. She walked slowly, with a quiet self-confidence that was so rare in one so young. They might be inanimate but their intelligence was great, supreme in its own way, since they acquired it, directly from earth. Nature's sentinels. She was different from all the other young ones that made occasional foray in their territory. She might have carried the innocence of youth, their amusing yet painful naiveté. But she was dark. That was her nature. It was cloaked, but clearly evident to them. It was not the dark of evil as clearly associated by the humans, but the dark that was prevalent everywhere, that was as constant as time. Its magic surrounded her, in every pore of her body, but visible perhaps to the knowing and to discerning eyes, in some of her expressions and body language. One day, soon, she would have power, dark power, magic at her fingertips, restrained only by her willpower and whatever training she is bestowed upon. And perhaps her gradually developing maturity will be formidable enough when the time comes and she wouldn't lose the vivacity of youth and the ability to distinguish between dark and evil. While the differences are huge, power, of any nature can cloud the vision of many.

Grass didn't make a sound beneath her feet. The young new blades and the ones that had gone stiff with age didn't breathe a whisper. When one understood nature, respected it, nature made exceptions to those. She walked by us, her eyes closed, as if in appreciation of some inaudible strains of music. Not that she needed her eyes, she had come before. As always, our limbs moved, leaves closing in together to give her some privacy that she wished, had come here for. A brief smile of appreciation of our gesture and thanks graced her features. As always. She stopped her stroll at the cliff overlooking the city and sat herself on the fresh grass.

When many compared the sun and the moon, moon came of in a bad light. For others, like us they are equally wonderful and supreme in their own right. The sun gave us life, the moon guided ours. While the sun, bright and golden, gave light to the world, the moon glowed, caressing the world below. The moon could never be underestimated. There were many in the world that dreaded the full moon. Most of these had visions so clouded by the _curse_ that they never saw the gift. The moon was formidable, loyal to people who respected her, could be undeniably cruel some to protect others, ones close to her,

He belonged to the moon or was closely associated to her. Tall, lean, face made up of deceptively delicate features and white hair that flowed with the breeze. He was totally at ease with his surroundings despite the fact that he was fully dressed in white. He was after her. That is why he had come here. It was strangely obvious.

He stood some distance from her, watching. "Its too late for you to be here."

She was still turned away form him, but there was no surprise in her laugh. "You worry too much. This is a calm and quiet city."

He crossed his arms, "That is not what I meant."

She turned around, looking at him for the first time. "I know. I couldn't sleep and I wanted to think."

He refrained from asking the question 'About what?' He knew when not to ask. She was one of the extremely few people he could even _think_ of as his friends. Ever since they had met, they had got on surprisingly well. He was both protective and possessive of her. And she knew, but never teased him about it. It was not so surprising, since their relationship had a very faint and very strange _dignity _to it. But he wouldn't be surprised if she did tease him. She had a streak of unpredictability within her.

"Why are you so worried?" she asked.

"This is a very crucial time for you. I am worried."

"Do you think I won't be able to handle it alone?"

A pause. "You will."

"Why did you hesitate? Do you doubt me?"

"I do not. It is because I did not want to tell you my answer. Your independent side pushes you to be infallible and I do not want my response to push you even further."

"I appreciate the concern, but it isn't like I'm just learning to walk."

Pale blue eyes narrowed, offered no response. She smiled as she looked thoughtfully at the dotted night sky, "Do you feel it?"

"What?"

Riya tilted her head back, "The wind, Yue. It is bringing the message of change. Perhaps in our lives."

Author's Note: All reviews and constructive criticism accepted. Flames and nagging are likely to go ignored.

Also, the football mentioned above is also known as soccer by some.

PLEASE REVIEW!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** All the Harry Potter characters obviously belong to J.K Rowling. The rest are mine, thanx!

**A/N:** I'm mentioning it once more- slash is mentioned! Very lightly. But if any one has a problem with it , can't do much. Rest of you, hope you like it! This is my first fic, so all reviews are really helpful!

**Chapter 2**

"Could you guys wait for a minute? I'll get some sweets for Kero." Sakura said as she walked to the counter. Riya looked triumphantly at Tomoyo, "Pay up. I told you she wouldn't be able to resist buying the sweets." Tomoyo looked at her with narrowed eyes, "_How_ did you know? Sakura has not bought sweets for Kero for the last two weeks" Riya's grinned widened, "Exactly, she hasn't. And since it is the start of the holidays, she decided its ok to indulge him."

Li cocked his eyebrow, "You had a bet on weather or not Sakura would buy sweets for Kero?" Two heads nodded warily. Li had a reputation of being incredibly protective about Sakura. He glared at them, "Next time inform me about it. I want to place my bets." Riya didn't bother hiding her surprise; "You are going to place bets on something involving your _girlfriend_? Li shrugged, "It is quite funny and I always wanted to bet on this. I'll tell Sakura once she comes back." "Awww that's cute. ", replied Tomoyo, "You almost never meet guys that are so honest. Li, I'm proud of you." Li looked like he wanted to sink through earth. "Forget about it," he muttered.

Sakura came in time to see a red faced Li glaring while the other two tried to control their laughter at his expression. Sakura looked around in surprise, "What's going on?" "We were just talking about how we had bet on weather or not you were going to buy sweets for Kero." replied Riya. Li shot her a grateful look. A pause. Sakura sighed ruefully, "I suppose I would have placed my bets, had it been someone else."

Riya patted Li on the shoulder, "There. All done." Li rolled his eyes, as slung his bag over his shoulder, "I have to go now. Football practice in twenty minutes." Giving Sakura a kiss, he walked off in the opposite direction.

Night was coming upon them quickly. Sakura, Tomoyo and Riya walked quietly, looking at the pink-purple sky, puffy clouds scattered everywhere. There was hardly anyone else on the road. But none of the three were worried. They had done this before. And then it happened.

It sounded like a car backfiring. Three heads peered into the alley. It was a small side road that ran along three-quarters of the perimeter of the park. Because of this, it was a winding road, with a few blind corners. Tomoyo walked into the alley, looking around, "I don't see a car." Sakura followed her friend, nervously, "I don't think we should be here." She looked at Riya, who was walking beside her, her stance alert. "What's wrong?", asked Sakura. Riya shook her head, looking reluctant to open her mouth.

Suddenly something in black, rushed past them, pushing Tomoyo in the process. "Owww!" exclaimed Tomoyo as she landed on the pavement. Her friends rushed to her. "Are you alright?" asked Riya, her concern evident. "Yeah," replied Tomoyo, "A hard landing, that's all. Who was that?" Riya scanned the area systematically. "No idea. But I think we should leave." Sakura nodded, "Definitely agree. As soon as possible." She looked at Tomoyo, "Are you able to walk?" Tomoyo nodded. Sakura and Riya helped Tomoyo to get up. But before they could start walking away, a cold, harsh, rasping voice came up.

"Where is he?"

There were two of them. Tall, dressed in what could be called robes, they started shuffling towards the group. Tomoyo took a few instinctive steps backwards. A white mask covered their faces and each held a pointy wooden stick.

"We don't know," replied Sakura shrugging her shoulders casually.

Under other circumstances, Riya would have laughed. The robes, the stick that couldn't even stab anyone. But her instincts were running amok. When it came to such situations, Riya gave a lot of credence to her instincts, just as she was trained to do. And right now her instincts were telling that the seemingly inconsequential piece of wood had the potential to do great damage. Knowing that Sakura would be getting ready to fight, Riya looked at her. Just in time. Sakura was just about to take the necklace out, when she saw Riya looking at her warningly.

The three friends took a few steps back. This brought a smile on the voice of the shorter one. "Well," he leered, "look at you. Never thought they made Mudbloods as pretty as you." The taller one walked a few paces ahead, stopping in front of Tomoyo, who seemed frozen in place. He trailed the stick down the side of her face, "Scared, are you?" he said in a soft voice. "That's alright love. You should be scared. I'm very dangerous." Riya resisted the urge to roll her eyes, since Tomoyo could be in grave danger. The man continued, "Besides, pretty thing like you are so much more…appetizing like this." The shorter man gave a creepy giggle. And Riya acted.

Using her feet, Riya pushed the man away from Tomoyo. The other man stopped giggling and looked at her, confused. She brought her elbow against his face and heard the satisfying crack of bone breaking. The taller man came towards her in rage. Riya smirked. Men could be so predictable. She had realized that rather than physical strength, these men were relying on those sticks. The man snarled, "You'll regret that, you bitch." He pointed the stick at her. Riya looked on, unimpressed "I don't think so."

These weren't even going to last five minutes. But that was okay in this instance. She wanted them to get lost as soon as possible. The man stared back, bewildered. By now all the mudbloods were either quivering in fear or begging for their pathetic lives. This one looked at indifference, mixed with mild annoyance. This agitated him even more. He charged towards her. Riya took hold of the hand clutching the stick, brought it around with a snap. The smaller man, who looked like he had a broken nose and a few broken teeth, pulled the other man who was looking at his broken wrist with horror and they both disappeared with a pop.

The three friends looked at each other in silence. Tomoyo shuddered, "Well, that was creepy. That man…yuck." Sakura gave a small smile, "That's one way of putting it." She looked at Riya puzzled. "Why didn't you let me use the Clow Cards? Or for that reason, why didn't you use your powers?" Blue eyes met green. "I had a feeling that we shouldn't have let them seen that we possess magical powers. Just trust me on this."

Sakura nodded. Sometimes it was just simpler to accept the suggestions Riya gave them. She had an eerie sixth sense about such things. And things worked out for them in the end. Usually. Tomoyo dusted off her clothes, "So what next?"

Sakura shrugged, "We call Eriol."

He was stunning to look at. Tall, lean, muscled with forest green eyes, dirty blonde hair that fell messily over his forehead, he was every woman fantasy. And currently, he was sitting in a corner of the room, sulking.

The room was large, airy, and full of light, its architecture odd for this part of the world. Its arches and vaulted ceiling were reminiscent of European cathedrals, giving a few hints about the origins of the occupants of the room. The other man sat in the opposite corner. Unlike the man sulking in the corner, who only wore some sort of loose cotton trousers, he was in jeans and shirt. He wasn't as stunning as the other man, his eyes a gentle blue, his features more delicate than his other half. His hair was a fairly tamed brown, with highlights of pale gold and black intermingling without clashing or attracting attention about the strangeness of it. On the whole, his appearance belied his reputation as one of the deadliest.

He watched the pouting man with amusement. He called this Gabriel's 'brat mode'. Usually an easygoing person, some days Gabriel woke up to be irritated by the smallest things. Like how someone was five minutes late. Walking over to his mate, Michael rolled his eyes. "Will you relax? There must be a reason for Riya to be late. She can be even more obsessive compulsive about timings than you." Gabriel glared at his lover, before sighing. "It isn't like her."

Michael smiled at his mate's obvious concern. It was about four years ago, when Eriol H had brought Riya from London with him. At that point they weren't in the picture. An orphan almost all her life, Riya had caught Eriol's eye because of her magical signature. Brought up in Britain by the Clow incarnate's guardians, Riya remained in UK, even when Eriol had left for Japan for a few brief months. When she became, Eriol brought her to Japan, where Li Syaoran's family adopted her. For the first time Riya had family and friends, who knew who she was and helped her.

It was perhaps a few months after Riya's arrival when their clan had to ally themselves with the Cardcaptor and her friends. Gabriel, who usually warmed up to people very, very slowly, took a liking to Riya within a few hours. Even he did. After the incident, Gabriel had a thought that would have turned a few heads- he wanted to train Riya. And Michael wholeheartedly agreed to help him with the training. Their clan was the most supreme in the world when it came to fighting techniques, even though they were peaceful. Clans mentored less than a handful in a millennium. And here were two who would take a single student, a human. And not only were they the best fighters, one was the prince and the other his mate. But before Gabriel and Michael could voice their thoughts, Riya's identity was discovered. And the vampire clan asked Li's grandfather for the opportunity to train Riya.

And now, four years later Riya was considered a formidable warrior even within the vampire clan circles. And while she was well known in the powerful vampire clans of Asia and Europe, (incidentally their clan was the most powerful in Asia and many of the clan members were European including, Gabriel and Michael) her existence was kept a secret from others magical species.

The familiar, purposeful footsteps broke the couple's reverie. Gabriel immediately brightened up, a speculative smile coming alive on his face. Michael smiled the sudden transformation. Riya walked in, absently brushing her hair back and smiling at them as she did so. Her hair was held back in a simple ponytail and was dressed in baggy jeans and a slightly loose T-shirt. Gabriel smirked, "This is the first time in three years you are late." Riya gave an absent smile in response. Usually when someone tried to annoy Riya too much or even once depending in her mood, they ended up with sharp, scathing retorts. Michael's eyes narrowed. "What's wrong?"

Riya smiled, "Don't miss much, do you? I had to stop at Sakura's house to check something. Eriol is arriving tomorrow." Gabriel cocked his eyebrow, "Why?" Riya shrugged, "Yesterday we ran into some men who tried to attack us with some sticks." As the vampires' faces paled and a dangerously angry expression came into their eyes, shrewd blue eyes looked at them piercingly, "_You_ wouldn't know anything about it, would you?" As they remained silent and hesitant, Riya smiled, "Don't tell me. I already have my suspicions and I will ask you later for confirmation. In the meantime, don't do anything or have anyone do anything." Smirking at the two sets of innocent eyes, Riya continued, "That doesn't work on me. I have seen you do for the last four years."

Gabriel rolled his eyes, "Fine, we won't do anything. But you have to tell us whatever you are going to get up to. We have to know." Riya unsheathed one of the swords, throwing it over to Gabriel, who caught it easily. "Fine," she said, not questioning the urgency in his voice, "it's a deal. Now, shall we begin? Lets see if I can kick your-"

Gabriel broke in, "No need to go on, I know what you are going to say. Thank you for offer, darling, but I am a happily mated vampire and only person who has any right to do anything to my arse is Michael. You understand, don't you?"

"Shut up, you dirty minded idiot!"

They had all assembled in Tomoyo's living room. It was big enough to accommodate everyone and no one would disturb them. Their excuse was an impromptu sleepover in which even Li was invited. While a few suspicious eyebrows were raised in the Kinomoto household, Sakura had been given permission.

Everyone was sitting silently, all lost in their own thoughts. Sakura and Li were sitting on a couch, Sakura looking contemplative and Li looking worried. Kero sat in a corner quietly eating some pastries. Riya sat in an armchair, her eyes looking as they were seeing far away. Next to her was Yue, leaning casually against the wall, his eye briefly resting on the two girls, once in a while. Tomoyo had gone to find some more pastries on Kero's request (in Sakura's words demand).

Everyone was jolted back to the real world as the door creaked gently. Tomoyo stood in the doorway, holding a tray laden with pastries and grinning. "Hey guys. Guess who I found on my way back." She stepped aside to let occupants of the room gaze at a familiar, lanky, blue haired figure. Riya smiled, "Its good to have you back, Eriol."

The stars were out, noted Sakura. It had been evening when Eriol had arrived. After all the greetings, the incident had been told a few minutes ago. Eriol was sitting quietly, lost in thought. Everyone sat expectantly for an answer, including her.

As the silence in the room became unbearable, Riya sighed. "Were they wizards?" she asked bluntly. Everyone looked at her in surprise. Eriol gave a faint smile, "I hadn't realized how varied your education with the vampires was." Riya smirked, her suspicions apparently confirmed, "It was the sticks." "Wands", Eriol corrected.

"Are either of you going to explain your conversation to us?" snapped Li. Eriol nodded, "Of course, my little descendent." Li closed his eyes in exasperation. Eriol looked at Sakura, "the individuals whom you encountered are known as wizards." Tomoyo frowned, "How did Riya know about them?" Riya shrugged, "As Eriol said, my private education is …varied. Anyway they are humans with magical powers."

Sakura looked at Eriol, "They are like us?" Eriol shook his head, "No. You and Li can loosely be classified as sorcerers. Wizards are less powerful than sorcerers. Even the powerful ones will only perhaps match a low level sorcerer. Also they use wands to concentrate their magical energy, which is only of the most basic mediums. What they have on their side are the numbers."

"If there are so many of them, why haven't we seen any?" asked Kero. "They are mostly concentrated in Europe, North America. There just aren't that many in this part of the world" replied Eriol, " And they tend to live away from non-wizards. Whatever wizards are here in Japan, they are not seen often." "They have their own community which lives in secret." elaborated Riya, "I suppose their policy is 'Live and let live."

"Actually, they are quite unaware of other types of magic existing," interjected Eriol, "What they do know, they are not aware of its full potential. In fact, for them, wizarding magic is the most powerful and the only one worth mentioning."

"So they don't realize that sorcerers exist?" asked Tomoyo. "Only perhaps a handful. For the rest, sorcerers just exist in their legends.", replied Riya.

"How can they not realize that other magics exist?" "Because everyone makes sure of it. The ignorance gives us an advantage. The wizards have a Ministry of Magic. If they find out about us they will interfere in our affairs, something they have no knowledge about. And since there are so few of us left, despite our powers we will be cornered."

"So if they think," began Yue, "that we do not exist and they do not want to be discovered, what happened that evening?" "That would be my question too.", added Riya," My teachers never told me why wizards pop up all over the world threatening people."

All eyes landed on Eriol. A long pause followed. Eriol sighed, "About twenty years ago, there was a wizard named Lord Voldemort. He had a large amount of followers and a twisted ideology. He wanted to cleanse the world." Riya frowned, "That sounds eerily like Hitler. What did he want to get rid of?" "Muggles," replied Eriol. At the blank faces Eriol explained, "That's what wizards call the non-wizards or as they think the, non-magical people. There are many wizards and witches who have one muggle parent or a come from entirely muggle families. Voldemort wanted them to be eradicated along with rest of the muggles who had no connection with the magical world. Many wizards followed him and the others were against him. About 17-18 years ago there was a great war going on in the wizarding world. People were ending up dead, murdered. Then one day Voldemort decided to attack this family called the Potters. The husband and wife died…"

"_Child of Prophecy,_" murmured Riya, her gaze blank. Everyone turned to look at her. She looked at Eriol, "The baby survived, didn't he?", she asked. Blue eyes narrowed. "How did you know?" asked Eriol. "I don't know," she replied discomfited at the attention, "it just came to me. When you mentioned the Potters. Go on, tell us. What happens?" His eyes still on Riya, Eriol continued, "The child survived and Voldemort disappeared. The boy was hailed as a hero, 'The Boy Who Lived'. He lived with his aunt and uncle, who hated him according to what I found out. He goes to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which is headed by Albus Dumbledore, a very powerful wizard.

"This was a fabulous lecture," drawled Riya, "but what is going on? Right now?"

"Two years ago, Voldemort was resurrected and their second war is stirring up."

Pin drop silence. Everyone looked lost for words. Riya laughed silently. After all, lost for words was not something you saw everyday in this group. Riya doubted it was the fact that this Voldemort (_is the that even a name?_) was back that had taken away their ability of speech. More likely, it was the word _resurrect._

"Can these wizards raise the dead?" Li exclaimed incredulously. Eriol sighed, "Technically, he never died, but after the child survived, he was left only a wisp of his former self. Whatever magic was used to bring him back to life was so twisted to achieve the resurrection that its original purpose was destroyed. Also, most likely it would have involved a lot of pain and blood and not for Voldemort."

"So let me sum it up," began Tomoyo, "Voldemort was defeated and the wizarding world was living in peace. Two years ago he was resurrected and has started on a rampage once again. And probably a war will start once again. The thing is, are you going to do anything?"

Eriol smiled devilishly, "Actually after you told me what had happened, I started thinking." "And?", Riya looked at him with narrowed, suspicious eyes.

"I have a proposition for you."

"Two lattes and an espresso please."

It was one of the coffee shops near the city centre. People sat in groups around chrome tables which matched the café's décor. Riya, Gabriel and Michael sat in the corner of the shop. Two pairs of eyes were planted firmly on Riya.

"So?"

"So what?"

"_Spill. _Who were they?"

Riya quietly took a sip of her coffee. Gabriel grimaced, "How can you drink _that?_" Riya nodded towards his latte, "I don't know how you can drink that, but you don't see me making a hue and a cry all over it, do you?", she replied bluntly. Gabriel glared at her. Michael looked on with the neutral interest of one who had seen all this before. The corners of Riya's mouth lifted as she looked at a pair of eyes looking back at her woefully. The owner of the said pair of eyes brightened up considerably the brief smile. "You should smile more often. It makes you more approachable."

Riya rolled her eyes, "Shut up, Gabe. Besides I am approachable."

Michael shifted uncomfortably, "Not really. You see," he continued hurriedly, "you are very beautiful." At this point Riya rolled her eyes sceptically "And you can look very intimidating at times. And you have this aura in everything you do. The way you walk, the way you fight, everything. And this aura says 'Don't mess with me because I can chop you up into thousand little pieces if you cross the line. If I want."

Riya grinned, "Really? I do?"

"Oh yeah."

"Then what's the problem? This is great."

"What?"

"Yeah. Why are you complaining? You two have it. So do your mum and dad, Gabriel. And it more like 'Do not mess with us unless you want an slow painful death'."

"Yes, but it took us many, many years to _cultivate_ that image," groused Gabriel, "And you seem to have been born with it. Bitch." Riya grin became wider at the open insult. "Plus you are too young. Wait for another two hundred years."

Riya's grin took on a touch of steel, "You are never too young."

"So," began Michael, adding a spoonful of sugar to his cup, "they were wizards?" The atmosphere around the table at once became sober. Riya sighed. As long as the words weren't spoken she could try and forget for a while about what was happening. Somewhere across the world, several people died terrible deaths and the rest lived in terror. Ordinary people who had no idea of what was going on saw their friends and loved ones die random deaths.

"Yes"

The grin faded and shoulder stood stiffer. Blue eyes usually full of amusement became cold and harsh. When Gabriel became like this even she refrained from making comments. This was not Gabriel, her teacher, but Gabriel, the leader of all the vampire clans in Asia. Gabriel's father Darius headed their clan which was the most influential in Asia. Gabriel on the other hand headed the Asian council of vampires and had the loyalty of all the clans. When Riya had first heard this, she had rolled on the floor, laughing, much to the Gabriel's chagrin and Michael's dire amusement.

Gabriel sighed, "This changes everything."

"Why?"

Gabriel moved his hand carelessly, "Because looking at you, I know you are getting involved and it comes at a time when the vampires are also making a few, _brief_ changes in their relationships with the wizards."

"Brief changes?"

Michael shrugged, "Yes, well, at times of war tangible alliances have to be made. If Voldemort does win, he will not make trouble with vampires. But none of us want death and enslavement of millions on our conscience. So we are obviously siding with the other side. This relationship will be as brief as possible because most wizards are narrow minded and blind in their views and prejudices. And annoying. Very annoying. Although that has been my personal opinion to date. Remember the 'most', just in case you do meet up with a few nice ones."

During this time Gabriel was looking at Riya with renewed interest. "What are you kids up to?"

Riya looked at him blankly, "What are you talking about?"

Gabriel waggled his finger, "Don't give me that look. I have seen you all through your adolescence. I know all your looks. And I know you are going to get involved. And I want you to tell me what you are going to do."

Riya gave a strange, cherubic smile, "It's nothing, really." At the continued glare of two men, Riya shrugged, "We, as in Sakura and me, are going on a little trip. That's all."

Even Michael looked suspicious, "Where are you off to?"

"Hogwarts."

"WHAT?"

"So you've heard of the place then."

"RIYA!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"You don't have to do this."

Sakura sighed, "We have already had this conversation, Li. You know I will go. I can't stay here, knowing that I could have done something. What would you have done in my situation?"

Li sighed, obviously reluctant to answer the question, "What you are doing. But it doesn't make this any worse for me. We'll be apart for a year." Sakura glared at him, "don't make this worse. And since you agree with what I am doing, there is no use arguing"

Tomoyo looked at the woeful couple, "Sakura, come and help me pack." Sighing, Sakura came over, looking wearily at the piles of clothes being heaped into the suitcase. "It's a good thing we did some shopping for you. Japanese style of dressing is different from European style. But still, you have enough clothes."

The day of their departure had come all too soon. Everything had been arranged. They had all once again assembled in Tomoyo's house to do the final packing. Sakura sighed, "Do you think everything will turn out okay? Will we actually help or hinder?" Tomoyo held her hand reassuringly, "You'll do as much as you can. Wizards can't save sorcerers because they don't know we exist. Other sorcerers are helping in their own way. This will be your contribution. Besides, I think it will be good for Riya."

"How so?"

"I don't know yet. You can tell me."

The polite knock bought everyone's attention to the door. Tomoyo opened the door, allowing two people to step in. They looked at their stunned audience with enjoyment. While the people in this group knew them, none of them knew the two as well as Riya, who was also watching them in surprise. Gabriel smiled disarmingly, "What? We can't come to say goodbye?"

"No, no, no, this looks okay, no, no, no good, fine, fine, fine, yes, no, yes, yes, YES! Who bought you this?" Gabriel held up a blue top. "You did," responded Riya dully. Gabriel beamed, "I have fabulous taste." "Good for you," replied Riya, rolling her eyes, "What are you doing anyway?" She once again looked at the two messy piles of clothes, horrified. "I thought you came to say goodbye, not to see what clothes I am taking."

"We couldn't let you leave knowing that your wardrobe would be consisting of so many oversized t-shirts," Gabriel replied plaintively, pointing at one of the piles, "I am allowing you some of the better ones, seeing as you use them for training."

"You must train everyday," said Michael," Practice martial arts everyday. We have not been training you, for you to lose your touch in a year." Riya rolled her eyes, "You know you don't have to tell me. I would do it weather or not you tell me to." Michael grinned, "I know, but it is a teacher prerogative to lecture its protégé once a while. Here," he handed her a samurai sword, "this should do. For the moment."

Gabriel looked at Riya, "Mum and dad send their love and blessings. Pilchards says best of luck." Riya looked at the two bewildered, "Why do you still insist on calling him 'Pilchard'?"

Riya pictured 'Pilchards' in her mind- a handsome, suave vampire whose actual name was Heath, who accepted the nickname with the same panache who accepted the more flattering names given to him by his countless admirers. Gabriel shrugged, "It's fun. And it's better than sardines. Now its my turn."

(_Sardines!_)

"For what?" Riya looked around her warily.

"To give you the lecture. You have two teachers, remember? Two teachers, two lectures."

"Oh joy."

" Don't take that tone with me! Anyway, since Michael has given you most of the lecture, I will just say the things he forgot."

Michael looked at Gabriel curiously "What did I forget?"

"For one, you must try and do meditation daily." At the response, Michael nodded his head seriously.

"Why?"

"Because you can otherwise bite someone's head off. And the last thing we need is a headless student. Or teacher."

"That. Was. Not. Funny."

"Yes, it was. I am a very witty person. So I have been told."

Riya smirked at Michael who in turn blushed and shrugged. Riya knew Michael was mad about Gabriel and took in all his idiosyncrasies. She looked on as Gabriel waved his hand and there stood neatly packed suitcases, next to which was a bag containing all the smaller weapons- daggers, knives etc. and also some muggle weapons, courtesy of Michael.

"Thank you for helping me pack up. Is this it then?"

Gabriel's maniacal expression and Michael laughter was replaced with mild sobriety. "Actually no, we need to talk to you about something else. Can we go to another room?"

Riya nodded and walked over to Tomoyo, whispering something into her ear. Tomoyo's startled expression vanished after a moment and she nodded, whispering something back to Riya, who then walked back to Gabriel and Michael. "Lets go."

She led them down the corridor into a spacious, airy room. Locking the door behind her, she turned around crossing her arms, "What's going on?" Gabriel motioned to one of the couches, "Sit down." Riya sat down, concern faintly flickering in her gaze for a moment before vanishing so quickly that Michael almost wondered if he had imagined it. Almost. After all, he was her teacher and he was the one who taught her how to veil her emotions completely. She could never hide herself completely from him.

Riya couldn't help feel tension as she sat down. When Gabriel became like this, there was a high chance that the news was not good. Gabriel knelt down in front of her. Riya flinched, "What are you doing?"

"Shhh," soothed Gabriel, "I have to talk to you. You know the bonding ritual you performed with both me and Michael?"

"Yes." Mild nervousness laced Riya's voice.

Gabriel pulled out a slim leather box. He gently unlocked the clasp, turning the box to exhibit its content to Riya. Riya gasped. Inside, on a bed of black silk lay a delicate chain made of a strange black metal with a single, large tear drop diamond through which was another chain ending with a single massive green-black pearl. She traced the necklace faintly with her index finger. "It's beautiful."

"It's for you," stated Gabriel.

Riya stared at him as if he had grown another head, "What?"

"It had been in the family for thousands of years. Since you are leaving under such circumstances, it was the request of the clan and the family that you take this. We would also love for you to accept it."

"But why? I'm only your student."

"It is a bond the vampires take greater than that of a brother and sister. Please accept this."

"So if anyone saw this and they knew vampiric protocol, for them this would mean that I belong to your clan?"

"Yes, but also that you belong to the de Rossi family."

"WHAT? But I am not!"

Gabriel gave an exasperated sigh. "Riya when we became your mentors, you became part of our family."

"So I belong to a royal vampire family."

"Yes. Your name is actually Riya Samara Morgaine de Rossi. If you take Li's family name it would come between you middle name and Morgaine. Of course," Gabriel voice became slightly cooler. Michael looked at him warningly. "If it is against your wishes-"

Riya suddenly got up and hugged both Gabriel and Michael. "Thank you. So much. Although the royal family…"

Gabriel and smiled and nodded towards the box, "So you accept?"

Riya gave a small nod, sighing. Michael picked up the necklace and gently put it around Riya's neck. As the clasp clicked into place, Riya felt something warm seep into her body.

Gabriel looked at her approvingly, "It's perfect for you."

Riya rubbed her arms. "I felt something when Michael put the necklace on."

"That would be its magic. Now it belongs to you. For ever."

"Lovely."

Michael pulled a smaller box, opening it to show a simple ring made of the black metal as the chain. "It's a family ring. You can't see the engravings on the ring because your identity is supposed to be hidden."

"I sense Yue."

Michael nodded, "He wasn't going to let you go unprotected. He can sense when the Cardcaptor is in danger, but with you he has no magical connection. So he weaved some of his magic on the ring. Also unless it's an extremely, extremely, extremely major emergency, you do not remove either the ring or the necklace. You should explain some of this to Sakura, since you two are in this together. Understood?"

"Perfectly."

Gabriel straightened up, looking at Riya sadly, "That's it. You are all ready to go."

Michael nodded sadly, "I can't believe you are leaving us."

"Cheer up, you two. I'll bring you some food from your native country."

"Yorkshire puddings, please."

"Sure," replied Riya soothingly as if talking to petulant children, "Whatever you want."

It was a dilapidated house. There was no doubt about it. In fact, dilapidated was very kind way to describe it. An apt way to describe the house was dieing. Its garden was dead. The poison ivy that ran all over the outside walls of the house was also slowly dieing. It was one of those houses that had the potential to pull even the most cheerful, the most positive people into the depths of depression.

But it didn't matter. Because it was invisible. It could only be seen by a few people who mattered. And while the people who mattered weren't too happy about its external appearance, they weren't too affected by it.

Inside, the house in Grimmauld Place had been given a makeover. Mouldy walls had been scrubbed and whitewashed. The vermin infested carpets had been removed and in the their place remained gleaming, polished wooden floors. According to the wishes of the current owner, Mr. Harry Potter, the walls had nothing hanging on them. No portraits, no pictures of friends and loved ones. Nothing except some black and white cityscapes and an old tapestry which had refused to come down.

Everyone was assembled in the kitchen, most of whom sat around the kitchen table, whispering between themselves. They were the Order of the Phoenix.

On one side sat tall, pale man with intense black eyes, a hooked nose and had greasy black hair framing his face. He was Severus Snape, the potions master of Hogwarts. Snape looked around him, sneering. Next to him sat Remus Lupin. Once upon a time he would have never sat next to him, perhaps preferring to drown himself in bile. But time changed everything. They had put their differences aside and were what could loosely be defined as 'friends'. Then came Minerva Macgonagall, Alastor Moody and Nymphadora Tonks. Then came the waste of space known as Mudungus Fletcher. And then came Arthur, Molly, Bill and Charlie Weasley. Severus couldn't help give a disdainful snort as he thought about the Weasleys. While they were ardent supporters of Dumbledore and his cause against Voldemort, they had an annoyingly narrow minded view of the world. For them all Dark magic was evil. How could anyone explain to them that even Voldemort hardly ever used Dark Magic. That it was not evil. Which was perhaps exactly why Dumbledore wanted them. They wouldn't question anything; never have second thoughts about Dumbledore's tactics. They would never realise how Dumbledore used everyone as pawns. It wasn't that they weren't intelligent, just that they were too blinded.

Then came Dumbledore. Every time Severus looked at him, he realised why he was sitting on this table, why he was a spy, why he was even involved. He also realised how Dumbledore remained unaware of the fact that his showpiece was breaking away, finding his own feet and allowing Snape to gain some respect for Potter. His thoughts were broken when Dumbledore stood up clearing his throat, "This meeting of the Order of the Phoenix has begun."

It was like another meeting. Reports were given and Mrs. Weasley gave her usual list of worries. Finally twinkling blue eyes rested on Snape. Snape sighed, "There was nothing much. Except –"

"Except?"

"Few weeks ago, something happened which has put Avery and Halstead in a bad position. They were chasing an Order member when they ended up in Japan."

Fletcher cleared his throat, "That would be me."

Dumbledore frowned, "Why didn't you inform us of this?"

"I didn't think it would matter. The whole thing lasted only a few minutes. I apparated, ran for bit- nearly ran into a girl, apparated and then I lost them."

Bill Weasley looked curious, "Japan?"

Mudungus looked sheepish, "I was panicking and ended up apprating in the wrong place."

Lupin frowned, "Did you say ran into a girl?"

"Yeah. There were some muggle girls there."

Lupin looked furious, "Do you realise, because of you those girls could have been killed?"

Horrified silence stilled the room. Mudungus became as white as a sheet. Snape smirked. Molly Weasley shrieked. "How can you find this funny? Even a Slytherin can't think that the deaths of innocent girls as funny." Snape cocked an eyebrow, "I think you are over reacting."

"And why is that?"

When Avery and Halstead arrived back, they were questioned under Veritaserum. There were three muggle girls. But they weren't harmed. Instead while Avery was busy terrorising one of the girls, the other broke Halstead's nose, Avery's wand and his wrist." Snape smirked at the stunned group, "It was actually quite funny at the time."

Charlie Weasley looked shocked, "You mean three muggle girls took care of two death eaters? How?"

Dumbledore smiled, "I am not too surprised." Snape inwardly rolled his eyes. "Many people in that part of the world practise martial arts. They were also very lucky."

Mrs.Weasley looked a little breathless after her recent rant. "They? You mean those girls? Of course they were. If the deatheaters hadn't been so under shock, they could have been seriously injured."

The eccentric headmaster of Hogwarts chuckled, "Of course, Molly. I'm sure those girls were very lucky. But actually I meant the deatheaters. They could have come back with worse injuries. The Chinese and the Japanese are very competent in their martial arts. Of course the could have also been killed by Voldemort."

The room winced in unison.

Snape scowled. He always got a feeling that Dumbledore got a major kick everytime he called the Dark Lord by his name. After all it would go hand in hand with that sadist streak that ran deep within Dumbledore. Ran deep, VERY DEEP. Which is why it was so hard to convince others of his theory. Not many believed that behind the mad, twinkling eyes and the easy smile was a shrewd and manipulative mind. Thankfully the said mind didn't do TOO many nasty things.

"I'm certain you are all wondering where Lucius is," said Dumbledore. Lucius Malfoy was another member of the order. And no one had realised that he was a spy. NO one had been more surprised than Severus Snape when the news came that Lucius had been a spy for Dumbledore even before Severus himself had become one. Only a few members of the order knew Malfoy's true allegiance. Until last year, when due something that was major secret and the main fodder for the Order rumour mill, happened concluding with Narcissa Malfoy's death and Lucius Malfoy going underground. And while he still wasn't very much liked, no one, not even Mrs. Weasley could fault him.

"Actually no one cared that much," mumbled Bill Weasley. Charlie and Mudungus snickered while Severus started shooting death glares.

Albus Dumbledore, laughed heartily, eyes twinkling away, as the expression on the face of Severus Snape continued to intensify, "Now, now Severus! You must have a better temper."

The potions master continued to glower, while Remus Lupin spoke up, even as he continued unsuccessfully to stifle his own laughter, "So where is Lucius?"

Dumbledore clapped his hands, "Coincidentally, in the place we were just talking about. Lucius is in Japan!"

The sniping and the bickering stopped. Dumbledore beamed at the pin-drop silence.

"JAPAN? JAPAN!"

"Yes, it is a country in the Pacific region, quite close to Russia. It consists of several small islands and-"

"I know where Japan is! What I want to know is what Lucius Malfoy is doing there?"

"Quite simple. He is negotiating with the vampires."

Mrs. Weasley gasped. Severus Snape rolled his eyes. _I'll bet five galleons that in five seconds that woman will start shrieking._

_Five._

_Four._

_Three._

_Two._

"WHAT? VAMPIRES!" _One._

"How can you do this, Albus? You know how dangerous vampires are! They drink blood! How can you even think about negotiating anything with creatures so, so, _so… dangerous_!"

" Actually vampires are not so bad," Lupin said mildly. All eyes shifted to him. Lupin shifted uncomfortably at the sudden, absolute transfer of attention. Molly Weasley looked at him indignantly. "Well, they are not!", huffed Lupin defensively "They drink human blood but only with permission. They don't go creeping around in the night, trying to find an innocent to kill. They are intelligent, powerful people!"

All eyes turned to Mrs. Weasley, who then shrugged "We didn't have vampires in our Defense Against the Dark Arts when I was in Hogwarts."

Dumbledore chuckled. Charlie Weasley looked confused, "But why Japan? There are vampires in Britain as well." Dumbledore steepled his fingers together, "I'll explain the vampire hierarchy in simple terms for those who remain unaware."

"Vampires belong to clans. Each clan is made of families. A certain family heads each clan. This family is basically vampire royalty. All clans are part of any five of the vampire council. Each council is headed by a certain family."

"So heading the council is a family business?", Moody asked, curiously.

"Actually the council is headed by a single person. Each clan send a few of their representatives and the head has to be impartial and unbiased. He may or may not belong the most powerful clan. He may or may not belong to any of the ruling families."

" Sounds good. Does it actually work?"

"Very well, in fact. They are chosen on basis of their ability to take on the responsibility. There are some complicated, sacred magics at work and the decision is unanimous. The vampires are very loyal. So they all live in relative peace"

Severus sneered, "Once again, why is Lucius in Japan?"

Dumbledore chuckled, "Don't be so impatient Severus! All things will be explained in good time. While the vampires will not ally themselves with Voldemort…"A wince rang in the room and many people flinched. The secondary reaction was of immense relief. Severus smirked as he watched Bill Weasley mopping his brow, from the corner of his eye. "…Most of them have chosen to remain neutral. Independently, of course."

"But why won't they help us?"

"There are many other problems in the world, Molly, not just Voldemort. We are taking care of one thing, they have something else to consider."

"You said 'most', Albus. I presume those who are willing are in Japan?"

"Something like that. Alexandra Khan, who heads the European council in Paris, said that only council that will be able to help us in this war is the Asian Council. It is headed by the de Rossis. Along with the Khans and the Ravens, de Rossi is the most powerful family. They are also the most respected and revered. It heads their clan and the Council."

"De Rossi. Sounds European."

"They probably are. Vampires don't give too much importance to where you are from originally when they allow you to lead them. A Japanese family, the Takaiishis head the Australian Council. Also, de Rossi's clan are full of deadly warriors. It is one of the things they are infamous for. If they help us it may give us a great advantage."

"So what happens?"

" I doubt they want to get too involved. If the clan think we need help, they will help us. If they think that the situation is too large, they will approach the council."

"And this depends on?"

"Weather or not the de Rossi's are willing to listen to Lucius Malfoy."

"This is it," stated Eriol. Riya and Sakura eyed the place sceptically. The entrance was small, but the light coming from inside was enough to give an idea about the age of the dingy pub. It seemed that they were the only ones who were noticing the pub, known as Leaky Cauldron (as indicated by the seriously lopsided sign). At least it was original. The rest of the world passed by, not even acknowledging the pub. Perhaps they couldn't, mused Riya. After all, this was one of the entrances to this wizarding world. They wouldn't want to take any chances, despite the fact that with its appearance, no one would too eager to enter.

The three of them stepped inside. Riya swept a trained eye over the whole place. It wasn't bad. Not bad at all. Gabriel and Michael had dragged her to much worse places. And sometimes she dragged them. Meanwhile Sakura took in the whole scene with widened eyes. The floor was made of stone while the ceiling had massive wooden beams running across it. A counter ran along one side stacked with bottles and what not. A grizzly old man, who was obviously the bartender, served drinks Riya had never even heard of. Tables of various sizes were scattered all over the room and most of them were occupied. Many families were also there having their lunches. Someone poked the dieing fire and the room was bathed in warmth and a golden glow. The whole place was warm, cosy and relaxed. It wasn't exactly a scene that would be associated with potential hardship and tragedy. Under the hood of her cloak, Riya smiled. If nothing, human beings were tenacious. At times, they would do anything to make sure that life would go on as normal, as if everything was alright, if only for a moment. Sometimes it was their salvation.

"Follow me," muttered Eriol, leading the way, weaving through all the tables easily. Riya followed him with fluid grace. As Sakura walked she noticed how curious eyes settled on her for a moment before sliding away. Apparently people walking inside buildings, with their hoods still up, was somewhat of a regular incident.

They exited the pub through the back door. Both the girls made their way gingerly through the stench and the rubbish to the brick wall where Eriol was waiting for them. Eyes filled with mild disdain mixed with amusement and mockery, Riya curled her lips. "Someone had some brains. No one in their right mind would think about coming here unless they had to."

Standing among the rubbish bins with absolute ease, Eriol smirked at Riya's comment. "These wizards use wands to channel and focus their magic. Usually they would go and buy one, but we can't do that since neither of you are witches."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Figures. So what do we do?"

"You call for them. Picture them in your hands and voila!

"Yay- sticks with sparkly stars."

Eriol looked at Riya sternly, who managed to look contrite. Barely. Riya grinned at Sakura who was trying desperately to hold back her laughter. "Leave him alone, Riya. Lets get this over with. I want to move before someone comes or this stanch permeates my clothes, giving Tomoyo a reason to kill me." Riya relented and both girls closed their eyes, their arms forward, and palms skywards. A burst of light engulfed the hands, leaving a wand in each hand. "Ash and phoenix feather," stated Sakura, twirling her wand with authority and walking closer to the wall. She paused in mid-step, turning around to see Riya and Eriol looking at her with speculative amusement. "Umm… how did I know _that_?

"It came with the wand I suppose."

" 'I suppose.' Really solid theory, Eriol. Truly."

"No need to be sarcastic. I'm speculating."

"**Someone** is getting defensive."

"What's yours, Riya?"

"Why do you do this? You always do this. Just when we were having fun!"

"Do what?"

"You know what?"

"No I don't. Pray tell."

"You change the subject."

"I do not!"

"Do."

"Do not."

Sakura cut in with, "Actually you do. Usually when we ask you if you ever had a girlfriend."

"SEE! I told you so! By the way, mine is willow with unicorn hair and basilisk fang. Why do I have three when Sakura has two? And so do the rest of the wands?"

"Don't know."

"Fine. Whatever."

Eriol tapped a few bricks with his index finger. The central part of the wall began rearranging itself. "Wizards do this using their wands. Try not to use your fingers." The bricks parted to from an archway. "Welcome to Diagon Alley."

Sakura and Riya quietly gawked. It was a strange yet wonderful street. Shops of different sizes sprang up next to each other, like mushrooms. _Like magic._ Eriol handed them a velvet pouch each. Riya tossed hers experimentally. It felt heavy in her hand and she could hear soft clinking of gold. Eriol looked at both of them, "This is your money for the whole year. Sakura, I have lent you some of my money, since it is my prerogative as Clow incarnate. Riya, yours comes from your account." Riya nodded. Her biological parents didn't have a chance to do any parenting but they did leave her very, very rich.

Eriol pulled out two sheets of parchment paper, looking at them thoughtfully. "We have to get you your school robes first." Riya caught hold of her hand, "Wait a minute. How did we get admission into this school in the first place?" Eriol looked at her with amusement, "You are two witches from Japan. You have been taught your magic at home, since your parents didn't want to let you leave. Unfortunately due to an emergency involving both your families, it was thought best that you were sent to Hogwarts."

Riya nodded approvingly. "Very nice. Simple. Precise. No fuss. No potential for getting anything wrong."

"What is your family emergency?"

"We don't want to talk about it," Sakura and Riya replied in unison. The two grinning girls high fived each other, laughing. Eriol rolled his eyes. "You two go get your uniforms. I'll go get the books."

The girls entered a shop called 'Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions'. A bell tinkled as stepped inside. No one could be seen. No staff, no customers. "Excuse me," Sakura called out. A plump with appeared from a corner, smiling kindly. "How can I help you, dears?"

"We need school robes," replied Riya, "For Hogwarts." The woman clicked her tongue, "Bit late aren't you? The train will leave in a few days." "There was a family emergency," lied Riya smoothly. Sakura bit back her laughter. How could people not notice when Riya lied? Didn't anyone notice that wicked glint in her eye? She shot Riya an amused and exasperated look. Riya gave a disarming grin. As the measuring tapes began measuring them, Riya shook her head. "Its not for me, but for her," she said pointing to Sakura. The woman looked up from the notes she was making. "What is you house?" "House?" repeated Riya, puzzled. The woman looked at them strangely, suspicion and distrust clouding the previously friendly expression. Sakura, immediately noticing the change, hurriedly intervened, "We are transfer students. We don't have a house yet." The suspicion was replaced by surprise, "You look to be seventh years. Why are you changing schools now?" "Family emergency," replied Sakura glibly.

Sakura cornered Riya as soon as they left the shop. "I presume there was a reason you didn't buy robes for yourself?" Riya shrugged uncomfortably, "Gabriel provided me with robes." Sakura cocked an eyebrow, "Was it part of the whole 'you must look good while you are at Hogwarts since you are part of the family?" Sakura was the only one Riya had informed about the whole thing. Riya nodded, "Yep. His mother's idea. It just feels strange when you are buying your robes." Sakura shook her head, "Don't worry about it. And if your robes and cloaks are anything like the fabulous cloak the Gabriel gave me, you are one lucky girl." Riya smiled in response. Sakura frowned, "So what do you think about this houses thing? I have never heard anything like it." Riya shrugged, "I have. They had the system in the school I used to go to." Sakura stared. Sometimes it easy to forget that Riya wasn't Japanese. Riya leaned casually against the wall unaware of all the looks she was getting. "The whole school was split into four houses. Each person belonged to a house. In events like Sports Day everyone would cheer for their own house. It wasn't exactly my thing. In some boarding houses, members of each house lived separately. I think Hogwarts comes in the latter category. And since it a magical school, the selection is likely to be magical and they must be implementing it strictly." Sakura looked concerned, "What if we get separated? I don't want to be there on my own." Riya sighed, "You won't. Even if we end up in different houses, we will still be friends. Openly."

"No doubt about it."

Riya's smile faded slightly as she spotted Eriol walking over to them, "Lets change the topic. I really don't want anyone else to know about this." Just then Eriol came and both girls pasted bright smiles on their faces. Eriol looked at them suspiciously.

"Bought the uniforms?"

"Yep. And I see you bought the books. So what next?"

"Next you two are going to go and meet with the Headmaster of Hogwarts."

It was carnage. Utter carnage.

The mossy green grass of the village green had turned a sick purple as it leeched the blood that flowed freely, mixing itself with the soil. There was a full moon. In its pale glow, the corpses merged even more fluidly into the shadows.

Not too many people had died. The Order members had fought bravely and the damage done by the death eaters was relative. But both the Death eaters and the order members had long gone. And now only the confused people of Little Hangleton remained, wondering what they had done to deserve such a terrible tragedy. The police cars and vans were scattered all over the tiny village as the policemen questioned the people. Ambulances surrounded the area, the paramedics doing the best they could to help the wounded, even they pronounced some of the unfortunate with deep gashes all over their body, dead. A medical team was carefully checking the corpses even as the wails of distraught families resounded through the velvet night sky.

Three figures watched the whole scene from the edge of a cliff overlooking the village. Dressed in black, they still managed to stand out from the grim background. A faint breeze blew into their faces, bringing the stanch of death with it.

They did not flinch.

The first figure was a girl. She was shorter than the other two. Her face was composed of seemingly delicate features. Her mouth was set on a firm line as pale green eyes surveyed. Sadness and tears battled with fury and rage. Fury and rage won, even as her eyes glimmered. Maturity and warmth could be seen in her face, if one wished to see it.

Her companion was taller than her. With broad shoulders, dark hair, velvet brown eyes and a laughing mouth, he was very popular with the ladies. Unlike the girl, he watched the scene with relative calmness, the only indication of his inner state being his white knuckles and his tense jaw. The third figure was taller and leaner. With one look at his face the single word that came to mind was beautiful. Beyond compare. His body stood with absolute grace and poise, his aristocratic face giving nothing way. Hair of palest blonde partially hid the narrowed grey eyes watching everything.

"That could have been us. We could have been there." The voice was beyond frozen. It was glacial.

The girl's already pale complexion turned waxen at the thought.

The dark haired boy shook his head. "I don't think so. We would have never done it."

"What if there had been no choice?"

"Time changes everything, Draco."

Draco Malfoy gave Blaise Zabini a chilling smile. "Yes, it does. Sometimes for the better."

With that the three figures disappeared.

Riya faced her reflection squarely. A young woman whose hair had been pulled back into a neat ponytail looked back at her. She smoothed her arms over her body. Just to give herself reassurance that she looked…. nothing out of ordinary. She was armed, she knew that, Sakura would know by experience but that didn't mean she wanted everyone else to know. Usually she would not have to in front of a mirror- her training had instilled in her enough confidence that she could arm herself discreetly enough that no one without some level of training would have been able to spot the weapons. But for some reason she wanted reassurance and so here she stood in front of the talking mirror that had been silenced because the last thing Riya wanted was some commentary along with her thoughts.

Sakura entered the room and noted with amusement the gagged mirror. "I know you wanted to be alone, but isn't this a bit extreme?" Riya shrugged, "The enchantment is temporary. I am not in the mood for talking mirrors." Sakura's eyebrow arched, "Aren't you a bit too tense just for a meeting with the headmaster?"

Riya rolled her eyes, "I'm learning not to underestimate. Albus Dumbledore might look the wizarding world mix of eccentric grandfather and Santa Claus does not mean he's harmless. He defeated the last Dark Lord the wizarding world had. He is the centre of the resistance. I'll bet you that beneath that façade is a very shrewd, clever and manipulative mind."

Sakura's eyes narrowed, "Well there is only one way we are going out aren't we? If we actually _go_.

Ten minutes later, Riya rolled her eyes as she watched Sakura fidget uneasily in her jeans for what could have been the hundredth time." Sakura, you look fine." Getting used to the western style of clothing was taking Sakura a surprising amount of time. They sat in the Leaky Cauldron surrounded by wizards who had no idea who sat in their midst. Sakura, who was now looking more settled, was dressed in jeans and white top in complete contrast to Riya who dressed, once again entirely in black. Her hair was pulled back and held up by a green jade pin which had been part of Yue's parting gift. On the surface, Riya looked calm and collected in her seemingly thoughtful isolation. But the warrior, which sometimes deeply intimidated Sakura was just beneath the surface and the signs that showed her actual state, was an uncharacteristically pale face and the eerily bright eyes which gave a fleeting doe-like impression.

Sakura nearly yelped when she felt the finger tapping her shoulder briefly. Both girls turned around. A tall woman of around sixty, dressed in black robes looked back at them analytically. Her mouth was set in a thin narrow line and her hair was scraped back into a severe bun. Clever eyes scrutinised them from behind their glasses.

Minerva McGonagall got a better look at the two girls as they stood up. The girl she had tapped was tall-ish, with large green eyes, her features sweet and innocent. "Sakura Kinomoto and Riya Morgaine?" The girl nodded her head cheerfully and politely, "I'm Sakura!" A quiet voice acknowledged, "Riya Morgaine." The Transfiguration professor turned her gaze to the other girl and wondered how could she have missed her before. Tall and slim, she stood with a deceptive grace, powerful, eerie blue eyes looking at her in a way that made her falter. It was not deliberate, Minerva knew. But something about those eyes affected her in a way that Dumbledore's never could. The strange beauty didn't look out of place on that face and she definitely didn't look Japanese. Understanding the expression Riya smiled politely, "I have lived in Japan for a long time even though I am not Japanese by birth." Professor McGonagall nodded briskly, not letting her surprise at the astute observation show.

She then introduced herself, "My name is Minerva McGonagall. I am the Deputy Headmistress and the Transfiguration professor in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Riya nodded politely, "Pleased to meet you." Professor McGonagall nodded, "We will be travelling today by portkey." As she turned to talk to the bartender, Sakura giggled and turned to Riya, "These British people have funny names. No offence, Riya. McGonagall? Although I have heard the name 'Minerva' somewhere." "It is the name of the Roman counterpart to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom," replied Riya absently, as she pushed away a drunken letch who had come too close. The professor looked at the stumbling man strangely, her eyes then shifting to the pair. Something speculative flickered to life for a moment in the teacher's eyes, before holding out a tankard. "This is our portkey for today. I hope you are not too averse to this mode of travelling. Two muted ' no m'ams' came out in response. Riya and Sakura looked at each other. They didn't even know what it was, but they had no choice. Although it didn't look like a terribly efficient means of travel (tankard!). McGonagall nodded, "Take this." Sakura held the tankard gingerly between two fingers, looking at it as if it was going to explode or bite her any minute. Riya smirked the absurd scene. "Hold it properly.", she hissed. She gripped the handle steadily, while looking at Sakura. Sakura glared back at her as she tightened her grip.

"Off we go."

Neither of them had any time before the world disappeared from underneath their feet.


End file.
